In the field of bottling of liquids, a system is known comprising a feed line for feeding a succession of empty containers to a filling machine, in turn comprising a rotating conveyor (so called “carousel”), carrying a number of filling units. The filling units are mounted to rotate continuously about a longitudinal axis, engage the empty containers, fill the containers with the desired product, and then feed the containers to a capping machine, which is coupled to the filling machine by at least one transfer wheel and which closes the containers with respective caps; a labeling machine may also be present, to apply labels to an external surface of the containers. In case of carbonated liquids, filling operations may include also feeding pressurized gas, such as carbon dioxide, into the containers to pressurize them, before filling the same containers with a carbonated liquid; and, afterwards, decompressing the filled containers.
The Applicant has realized that monitoring the operating status of container processing machines on-site, i.e. during their operation in the processing plant, in particular with the alia of determining or predicting their reliability and maintenance and overhaul requirements; may often prove to be a difficult task.
In particular, while sensors and other electric/electronic components are used on-site in the processing machines to evaluate the operations performed in terms of their result (e.g., in case of filling operations, in terms of the quality of the filled product, for example the amount of liquid introduced in the container, the filling level, etc.), the Applicant has realized a lack of solutions that allow monitoring the operating status of the processing machines with the aim of evaluating their reliability and maintenance requirements.
In particular, it may prove to be difficult, also due to the generally limited time available to perform the monitoring operations and due to the lack of suitable tools and equipment, to perform quantitative measures relating to the operation of the processing machines, and to identify component(s) that are faulty or may be subject to faults in the near future.
Therefore, it is not impossible for the processing machines to be subjected to decreased performance or even to failures, with consequent decreased throughput, or even stops, of the processing plant.